About: We love chocolate and the word “chocolate” is synonymous (in our minds) with dessert. So for those of you who don´t share our cocoa passion, we have other offerings. But if we had it our way, the heavens would rain chocolaty brown goodness. Source: The Chocolate website, http://www.thechocolatedc.com/faq.php

The ambiance: It’s a lot like walking into a large, old house that magically has two small dessert cases, four cake plates, and a heavenly scent of warm sugar. There are a couple smaller tables on the ground level, along with a couch and easy chairs on which you can relax. There is also a second level that I didn’t visit because I was quite content sitting at my table and devouring my dessert. It’s homey (of course) and comfortable and fosters a real sense of friendship and family. Am I getting too mushy on you? I can’t help it — dessert makes me content.

The Munch: I wanted to try all the things, trust me. It’s very difficult for a girl like me walk into a strictly desserts restaurant and use self-restraint, but I’d just eaten a large meal of delicious Thai food and was quite sure I wouldn’t be able to hold much more. They were sampling out their Turtle Brownies, which were decadent, dense, moist, fudgy, with crunchy pecans and creamy, sweet caramel, and I considered purchasing the rest. But I felt determined to try as many items as I could, so I passed and then made the difficult decision between what looked like the world’s most perfect fruit tarts, large, frosted sugar cookies, cupcakes, or a slice of three (four?) layer cake. I finally chose the latter. And because I’m a nice wife, I purchased one cupcake for Husband, who ate it in probably thirty seconds and one inhalation. Really — I brought it home, stepped into the bedroom to hang up my jacket, heard the rustling of the bag, returned to the kitchen, and it was gone. I ordered:

The Brooklyn Blackout

German Chocolate cupcake

The presentation was beautiful as well.

I wanted to love my piece of cake, a “luscious, sweet chocolate cake paired with a dark chocolate filling and rich dark chocolate frosting” (source: The Chocolate website, http://www.thechocolatedc.com/menu.php) in the sort of way that would drive me to purchase a whole cake for $48 to enjoy for the rest of the week. I didn’t, which isn’t to say it wasn’t completely and utterly delicious, and that made me just a little disappointed. To date, however, I’ve found only one chocolate cake that was the epitome of what I want chocolate cake to be, and it was at a bridal fair I attended (when I wasn’t planning on getting married), so it was a little moot. I prefer cakes to be on the lighter side to cut through the richness. If you like a dense, rich cake, then The Chocolate will absolutely deliver, and I’d say my lack of pure elation was due entirely to my personal preferences. The filling and frosting, however, were divine — not too dark and bittersweet, but not so sweet that I felt the need to run to the dentist afterward. I was encouraged by my hairstylist to order the Kitty Katrina, a vanilla cake with vanilla buttercream, but I don’t believe in vanilla desserts and opted against it. However, I had a bite of my friend’s, and I felt as though it was a really delicious dessert if you’re not morally opposed to a vanilla cake with vanilla buttercream. The flavor was like eating a vanilla bean rather than an ambiguous sweet, white taste, and it was quite rich, certainly something I’d recommend to others.

Husband didn’t have a lot to say about the cupcake beyond “Yeah, it was good,” but if he’d taken time to savor it, I’m sure I could have coaxed out a little more review. I chose it because that’s one of his favorite flavors and the frosting to cupcake ratio seemed perfect — although I am a huge fan of frosting, I’ve been to cupcakeries that had as much frosting as cake, and that was too much to handle. I’d certainly return and try their other cupcakes as well, which are more traditional cake flavors as opposed to their signature cakes, which are Fancy. With a capital “f.”

The bill: Sitting somewhere around $8.50 with tax and tip — I can’t locate either the receipt or the transaction online, so I’m giving my best guesstimate. While the prices may seem a little steep, they’re definitely worth it for the quality of product you receive. Also keep in mind that if you go to a restaurant, a three layer cake can set you back up to $9 or $10, so $4.89 per slice is quite a bargain.

Total score: 8/10 — the desserts were delicious and the atmosphere comfortable, plus the staff was so sweet and friendly (as you’d expect at a cafe that probably goes through a ton of sugar a month). I’m looking forward to returning so I might sample their other tasty offerings — after all, I’ve got my eye on that fruit tart.